We’re lucky that just a couple miles down the street from Your Wild Life headquarters is the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, home to wonderful exhibits about the biodiversity of the Southeast, outstanding scientists, and an immense natural history collection.

And as of April 20, it’s going to get a whole lot bigger and better! That date marks the 24-hour Grand Opening of the Nature Research Center (NRC), a new 80,000 square-foot wing that aims to connect people to the research that affects their daily lives.

Your Wild Life team has partnered with NRC scientists on a number of projects. (That shouldn’t be too surprising since we too are dedicated to sharing the science of our daily lives!) So we’ll be there live and in-person for all* 24 hours – talking about our projects, doing demos, and getting you excited about the biodiversity that lives on us, in us, and around us.

[*Ok, so YWL representation at the 1 -5 AM shift is contingent on our wild, crazy and fully caffeinated undergrad volunteers.]

Today I had the opportunity to go on a behind-the-scenes tour of the NRC. Consider this your sneak peek at some of the cool stuff you’ll get to experience in-person VERY soon!